Beneath the Skin
by TheCartoonGoddess
Summary: Takes place a few months after the play. Christine and Raoul are newlyweds and ready to start a new life. Little do they know that Erik is hiding in their attic still watching them making sure Raoul is good to her. But in an attempt to see her, Erik ends up finding himself getting caught by Annie, a new maid who wants to sing like Christine.
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

**A.N: Hello everyone allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is TheCartoonGoddess and this is my new fanfic: "Beneath the Skin" Now, I love "Phantom of the Opera", I love the songs, I love the story, I love the characters! This is the first fanfic I've written for this fandom so please be nice. Obviously I do not own the "Phantom of the Opera" or it's characters those belong to Gaston Leroux, and the musical belongs to Andrew Lloyd Webber, also this fanfic takes place after the musical not counting "Love Never Dies" in this case "Love Never Dies" didn't happen obviously XD...Okay, let's do this… :)**

* * *

 _ **Paris, France: April 1871**_

The air was crisp on this fine spring morning, it felt slightly warm but still seemed to slightly linger with winter's chill. The streets of Paris were quiet with the exception of the birds that were chirping softly to the bright light of the morning which was pushing away the last remains of the night. Not a living soul was on the streets for it's residents were not quite yet awake.

A carriage rolled quietly down one of the cobbled streets. Inside the carriage sat a young man with brown hair in a rather fancy suit, across from him was a woman about his age perhaps a year or two his junior who also had brown hair but in delicate curls and wore a gorgeous periwinkle gown.

"We're almost there, my dear. In no less than a few minutes you and I shall be home." The man said happily taking the young woman's hands in his own, then it caught the man's eye that the woman was looking out the carriage window kind of lost in thought.

"Dear wife...What seems to be troubling you?" He asked, The lady didn't respond,

"You're still thinking of "him"...aren't you?" He asked, the woman looked to her husband with a look that now displayed guilt and worry. "It's only been a few months, Raoul!" She said sounding upset, "The only evidence they found was his mask...No one knows what that means. I'm just fearing that...that..." She hesitated, "...I'm fearing that he might come back for us…" She finally finished,

The grip that Raoul had on his wife's hands only tightened, "Christine, the officials have inspected his lair and have said that he is gone, long gone." Raoul told her, Christine's look didn't change.

"Listen here, you need no longer fear that so called "Phantom". Look at us, we're wedded, you're my bride, and we will soon be home where we will start anew and put this whole incident behind us." He told her, Christine just smiled faintly at her husband. "I hope you're right…" She said,

* * *

Down the street inside a grand estate, the numerous servants who cared for the place were rushing around dusting the furniture along with sweeping and mopping up the floors.

"Oh! We really must hurry!" One maid said to another, she was rather chubby and her reddish brown hair had a few visible grey strands. The other maid whom was a thin young blonde just nodded in agreement. "Oh yes! Everything must be ready, they should arrive any minute!" She said, A butler ran down the stairs hastily carrying a silver platter.

"Also there's that new maid that's coming." The butler spoke up, "Of course! Annie! By the looks of her resume she sounds like a smart, hardworking youth." A woman cut in, the woman was a middle aged one and went by the name Clarissa. She had gray hair and her face was wrinkled.

In the distance they could see the carriage that was carrying the Vicomte and the new Vidame coming down the road to the house.

"Here they come! The Vicomte and Vidame are here!" One of the servants shouted, all of the other servants began to talk and gush excitedly as the carriage rolled to a stop in front of the house.

The footman stepped off the side of the carriage and went to open the side door. When he opened it out came Christine and Raoul. Raoul stepped off without any problem while Christine was taken by the hand and guided out of the carriage by the footman.

One of the butlers walked up to them and spoke, "Ah! Master Raoul Mistress Christine! We welcome you both home!"

"Thank you, Charles." Raoul said giving a nod to the butler, the young newlyweds then entered the courtyard where everyone was still anxiously waiting.

"We are so honored to meet you, Christine." Clarissa said gushing and giving a curtsey, Christine smiled flattered of the complement and looked down at the ground. "It's very lovely to meet you all too." She replied returning the kind gesture, "Come, and we shall get you both settled in." Clarissa said, Christine and Raoul smiled at each other as Raoul took her hand and they all began to head inside.

Once inside Christine marveled at the large estate building, with it's high ceilings and grand staircases, it reminded her of the gala in the Opera Populaire, thinking of that made her think of Meg and Madame Giry, and the chandelier crash, and of…

She shook her head to clear away the thoughts, they were events of the past and this was supposed to be a new start, for her and for Raoul.

All of the servants began to disperse as Clarissa gestured towards the left staircase. "You're room is up this way." She said, as the three headed up the staircase she led the young couple up the stairs and down a long hall to their room. It was a pretty spacious room with a gigantic bed and a huge vanity for Christine, there was also a balcony.

"Such a beautiful room!" Christine said looking around, one of the butlers came in carrying Raoul and Christine's trunks and set them down on the bed.

"Yes, only the best for you both." Clarissa smiled sincerely, "Now, we have a new maid arriving soon so we shall leave you two to settle in. Come Walter." She said referring to the butler who brought in their luggage, the two servants left the room and the newlyweds to unpack.

* * *

Outside of the house another carriage pulled up. The door opened and out stepped a young girl about the same age as Christine. The girl herself had gorgeous eyes about the color and shade of moss. Her long healthy brown hair was up in a loose braid with a few strands escaping.

Clarissa instantly ran out into the courtyard and ran to the girl ecstatically.

"There you are, Annie! Welcome my dear we are happy to have you!" Clarissa said taking both of the girl's hands in hers, the girl known as Annie just smiled and replied, "Thank you very much, I'm so honored to be here."

"Yes of course, let me show you to your room." She then turned and they headed inside. All of the servants were still running around cleaning like there was no tomorrow. This confused Annie a bit.

"Clarissa, I must ask you, why all the commotion?" Annie asked, Clarissa turned to her and replied, "Oh! Of course, I forgot to tell you! The Vicomte arrived home today!"

"Oh! The Vicomte!" Annie said nodding finally understanding, Annie of course knew of the Vicomte Raoul De Chagny, she had never met him personally but she had heard that he was a kind man and he certainly treated the rest of the servants well.

"And he returned with his new bride, the new Vidame Christine De Chagny. However you may remember her as Christine Dáae, she sang for the Opera Populaire some time back."

Annie also knew of Christine very well. She saw her when she performed "Think of Me" in place of Carlotta back in November at the Opera. Such a lovely voice Christine had, Annie envied her and her voice only hoping to someday sing as beautifully as her.

"Of course, that was before...the incident occurred…" Clarissa said her face now grim, "What incident, Ma'am?" Annie said confused, "Child don't you remember? It was all over the media!" Clarissa asked slightly surprised, Annie still eyed her in confusion.

"The chandelier incident, my child." Clarissa spoke again, "The chandelier that crashed in the Opera Populaire a few months ago! The chandelier crash that was caused by…" She paused and checked to make sure no one was listening.

" _The Phantom of the Opera…"_ She sang softly, Annie was now slightly taken aback.

"The Phantom, Madame?" Annie said stunned, "He was the one who caused the chandelier to crash?" Clarissa just nodded. "Yes, and it was rumored that the Vidame Christine herself was taken down to his lair and was almost forced to marry him, and he almost killed monsieur Raoul as well! But then he let them go...Ever since then, the Phantom of the Opera has not been found, the only evidence that they could find in his lair was his mask…" Clarissa finished.

Annie now stared down at the floor completely lost in thought. During her years in Paris she had heard rumors of the strange phantom that resided down in the dark cellars of the opera house, the rumors about his deformed face such as his skin being as yellow as parchment, a large hole in the center of his face in place of his nose, and worst of all, his punjab lasso that was said to be his tool for murder. But she had also heard the rumors of him being a talented composer, and a master magician and architect. A genius. She didn't really know what rumors were true and which ones were false. On the whole, she didn't think that someone should be berated for looking different...Beauty wasn't just on the surface, it was also found within…

"But enough about that, child! Let's get you to your room!" She then led Annie up the same staircase she did Raoul and Christine and turned down a different hall and until they stopped at a door.

Clarissa opened the door with a quick jerk of the knob and said, "This is your room, dear." The room was rather small but big enough for Annie to fit all of her things in. It was complete with a bed and wardrobe and a large window from which she could view Paris very well.

"You can start tomorrow, Annie. If you need anything just holler." Clarissa stated, "Okay, thank you madáme." Annie smiled with a nod, then the middle aged woman left the young girl to unpack as well.

After unpacking only half of her luggage, Annie collapsed hard on her bed desperate for sleep. The journey here from the countryside just outside of Paris was a rather exhausting one. She searched through her luggage and threw on her nightgown and put up her hair, and climbed into bed. She reached over to turn down the oil lamp on her nightstand and closed her eyes. It didn't take long to fall asleep, but for a brief moment before she drifted off she could've sworn she heard organ music coming from the ceiling.

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 **And there's chapter 1, leave a review, favorite, or follow if you enjoyed, constructive criticism and ideas are welcome :) I will see you guys in the next chapter ;)**


	2. Chapter 2: Strange Things

**A.N: Hello everyone here I am again with a new chapter of "Beneath the Skin". So in the last chapter we saw Christine and Raoul return from their honeymoon and we also met Annie...But then they began to fear that the phantom of the opera was still around and Annie heard organ music coming from the attic...Who could it be? Find out now! ^^**

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Annie was sound asleep in her bed as the sun rose to start another day. She winced as a beam of sunlight hit her face and threw her hand in front of her face to shield it. Annie sat up with a tired groan and tossed her covers aside and climbed out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror across from her bed. Her nightgown was wrinkled and her wavy brown hair was a mess. She then walked over to the window and opened the shutters a crack letting some air in. It was slightly chilly like it was the morning before when she first arrived but this time it felt slightly warmer.

Annie then hurried to get dressed and start work, she threw on the maid's uniform that Clarissa had given to her when she arrived and ran a comb through her tangled hair making the waves waves neater. She exited her room and headed downstairs. The main gala was quiet with only a few maids and butlers walking around, cleaning and straightening things up.

She looked around until she saw Clarissa, she eagerly walked over to her and the older woman smiled instantly upon seeing her.

"Ah Annie! Bonjour! I hope you slept well." She greeted kindly,

"Good morning, Clarissa. And yes, I slept just fine." Annie replied with a tender smile,

"Very good, the vicomte and vidame should be waking at any moment. Could you bring them their breakfasts?" She asked, Annie nodded, "Yes madame."

Annie went and grabbed the breakfast for Christine and Raoul, she carefully walked up the stairs carrying the tray so nothing would spill and went down the hall to their room. It was quiet and Annie only assumed they were still asleep, she raised her hand and gently knocked and it was silent for a minute.

"Who is it?" A tired but gentle female voice called from inside, Annie instantly recognized it as Christine's. "Breakfast madame." Annie answered kindly, "Come in." Christine replied,

Annie opened the door to see Christine sitting up in bed with Raoul still and sleeping on her right. She gave the young maid a smile.

"Good morning, Miss Christine." Annie said quietly, she entered the room silently so she wouldn't wake up Raoul.

"Déjeuner mademoiselle, are you hungry?" Annie asked handing Christine the tray of food. Christine took the tray eagerly and laughed. "Yes please." She lifted the lid off her plate to reveal eggs, bread and butter, a few pastries, and a cup to pour her tea in.

"Åh herregud! There's enough here to feed an entire army!" She squealed, she grabbed the teapot on the tray and poured some of the hot tea into her teacup.

"It's so nice to meet you, Miss Christine." Annie said tenderly, Christine then hungrily reached for the bread but munched on it politely. Although she was starving, she wanted to retain her manners.

"No need to call me miss, we are most likely the same age, just call me Christine." Christine assured her, "Oh, of course, Christine." Annie nodded, "And it's a pleasure to meet you too. It's a pleasure to meet everyone here." Christine continued,

"I really do love your singing, it's so beautiful! I don't think I've met another girl our age that can sing like you…" Christine just blushed at that comment. "You're very kind uh..." She trailed off not knowing her name.

"It's Annie." Annie smiled, Christine instantly smiled, "...Annie." She finished, "Well, if that will be all…" Annie curtsied, "Good day, Christine."

"Good day, Annie." Christine replied,

Annie left the room completely ecstatic. She got to meet her idol.

" _I actually got to meet Christine Daáe…"_ She thought as she went down the grand staircase again.

But the good moment ended when she heard a strange noise coming from the ceiling. She looked up, it was that strange organ music again, the music that she heard the night before when she went to bed. This confused her. Why was that music playing? But after a minute of playing it stopped. Annie felt a chill go up her spine. But she decided to shrug it off and went back to her work.

* * *

In the attic of the house the organ music was coming from an old organ that had been put up there years ago. Playing the organ was none other than the Phantom. He slammed his fingers down on the keys causing a loud haunting tune to sound through the organ's pipes. He then began to play faster as his hands danced across the keyboard of the organ producing a beautiful melody in the process.

When the tune was finished, he quickly jotted it down on a piece of parchment. He could already see his opera coming together, it had all the right dynamics, the right pitch, good amplitude, it just needed one more thing…

...A singer…

He knew he would need someone to sing this opera that he was creating...Unfortunately, after the chandelier incident a few months ago, he could no longer be seen around the Opera Populaire, and even though he was now living in her house, he promised himself he wouldn't interfere with Christine's life.

...Christine…

Ah Christine, the girl with a voice of gold that sung his music flawlessly. The woman he fell in love with. But now she was someone else's, she now belonged to a man that he himself still didn't quite trust.

When he let her and Raoul go he didn't trust Raoul one bit. That was why he was here, to make sure that Raoul was taking good care of Christine without interfering with their lives, and if Raoul didn't treat her right, he would interfere.

But oh how he longed to hear her voice sing again! He wished he could see her but he knew he couldn't. He promised himself hat he wasn't going to let her get to him.

But then he heard something, a voice...singing…

" _Think of me, think of me fondly when we've said goodbye. Remember me, once in while just promise me you'll try."_

He recognized that song all too well...and that voice...He went near one of the near one of the grates in the wall and looked through.

" _Christine?"_ He thought as he looked around, a young woman walked down the hall but it wasn't Christine. It was one of the maids, she was walking down the hall carrying a bundle of freshly washed clothes and the singing was coming from her.

"She's the one singing that beautiful song?" He quietly asked himself, suddenly she stopped. She looked around as if something was troubling her, then she looked up towards where he was looking out and he backed up from the vent before she could see him. He headed back towards the old organ and ran his fingers across the keys and thought.

"Such a nice voice...Could this be another angel that was sent to me?" He wondered,

* * *

Annie walked down the hall singing "Think of Me" while on her way back to Christine and Raoul's room. In her arms was a bunch of washed clothes for Raoul and Christine that Clarissa wanted Annie to bring up to their room. A few hours had gone by and Raoul had already left to go do his duties. Halfway down the hall she started humming and then finally broke into song.

" _Think of me, think of me fondly when we've said goodbye. Remember me, once in awhile, please promise me you'll try. When you find that once again you long to take your heart back and be…"_

Annie stopped, she looked around. She had the strangest feeling that someone was watching her. She continued to look around the empty hall feeling a little bit frightened as the feeling grew more and more real. She turned and looked up towards one of the grate and for a split second swore she saw a silhouette watching her from the great.

She blinked but the second she opened her eyes the silhouette was gone. Annie felt another chill go up her back but she once again shook it off and headed for Christine and Raoul's room once again.

She looked in and saw Christine at her vanity fixing up her curly chestnut hair.

"There she is!" A voice yelled, this startled Annie and she turned to see where the voice came from to see a bunch of other maids about her age push past her taking Christine by surprise as well.

"Christine!" One of the girls yelled, she had short red hair and icy blue eyes. "Vidame!" Another girl yelled, she had long straight raven black hair and vibrant green eyes.

"Why hello everyone." Christine said kindly, "What can I do you for?" She asked, "Well we all just adore you and we wanted to ask you a few questions!" The redhead replied excitedly,

Christine nodded, "Very well, what do you want to know?" She asked,

"Well for one: what was it like to sing at the Opera Populaire? Weren't you scared with singing in front of all those people?" The raven haired girl asked, Christine replied, "Well, I will admit it was a very...interesting experience but I do love to sing so I wasn't at all terrified."

Then a platinum blonde cut in, "What about Master Raoul!? We're you two really childhood sweethearts!?" She asked, Christine blushes, "Yes, we were."

All of the maids squealed in awe, "So romantic!" An auburn haired girl shrieked from the back of the group.

"Ooh! I've got one more question!" The raven haired girl said again, "Tell is about The Phantom of the Opera…"

The room fell silent...All of the girls including Annie just stared at Christine who now had her eyes wide. She remained silent as she thought for a moment and then looked at the group of girls who were eager to hear her answer.

"...Well...Some of the rumors that have been said about him are true...but most of them are a bit...exaggerated."

"What about the rumors of his appearance!? Does he really have a nose?" The blonde asked, Christine shook her head, "No, he has a nose. And his skin tone is completely normal…"

"He took you and Raoul down to his lair! What happened that made him let you go!?" The redhead asked highly intrigued,

"Well...He let me go because he realized that he was wrong...and he was so bewildered that I was willing to give up my life to save Raoul and he let me go…".

"Christine, is he bad?" A carrot haired girl asked, Christine bit her bottom lip.

"Well...I-I uh…" She stuttered, suddenly Clarissa came into the room interrupting their conversation.

"Alright girls I think Miss Christine has had enough reminiscing for one day." She waved them out, "Come on now, back to your chores. The maids huffed and sassily walked out of the room knocking into Annie once again accidentally making her spill the fresh laundry all over the floor.

Annie sighed as she fell to her knees and began to fold the clothes up again. Christine walked over and knelt down to help her pick the clothes up.

Annie looked up at the ex-opera singer, "Thanks." She said shyly, "Anytime." Christine smiled, once the laundry was all folded up Christine took the bundle from Annie and took it over to her bed.

"Is he really a bad person?" Annie asked, "The Phantom I mean." Christine froze once again, since her back was turned to her Annie couldn't see the color drain from Christine's face. After a minute she turned to look at her still hesitant on giving an answer.

"Well, I don't think bad is the right word...flawed is more like it...He's made a lot of bad choices in his life...But no...I don't think he's a bad person." Christine replied, Annie thought it over for a while and just nodded in response.

"Thank you, Christine…Well I'd best return to my work…" Annie said, she then gave Christine a courtesy then turned and exited the room.

* * *

 **There's chapter 2! I hope you all liked it and I will see you in the next chapter! Bye! ;D**


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